Vanderbilt, 1955
• 1954 Academic All-America® Third Team
John Hall was inducted into the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Hall of Fame in 2001.
A student athlete in every sense of the word, John Hall was a former defensive lineman for the Commodore’s football team from 1951-1954. Hall was Vanderbilt’s first Academic-All American and co-captained the team in 1954, his senior year. After speaking to a professor about his academic potential, Hall applied intense work ethic to both athletics and academics. He graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1955 with a degree in chemical engineering and went on to become chairman and chief executive of Ashland, Inc., a multi-national Fortune 500 Company.
As a member of the Board of Trust at Vanderbilt since 1987 and president from 1995-1999, Hall remained an active member of Vanderbilt University and credited much of his experience in athletics to becoming a business success. He and his wife, Donna resided in Lexington, Ky. In 2008, Hall was honored as an inductee of the Vanderbilt Hall of Fame’s inaugural class.